$500K Lifestyle..... $1Mil+ price tag

I recently went to 2 consultations where the vendors were getting ready to list their home in the $1.5 – 2.5 mil. Today in the GTA, it is not uncommon. We are often in homes at this price point doing consults and styling.

Both homes were tastefully decorated, well kept, and clean. They showed an acceptable level of pride of ownership. They both still needed a few touch ups and one needed some painting but basically the owners felt they were almost ready to list. And they were. But…..neither home fit my ‘vision’ of what a home with a $1,000,000.00+ price tag would be. The Lifestyle wasn’t a million dollar Lifestyle. (See all those zeros – that’s alotta moolah!)

The decor looked very similar to what was in a $700K home around the corner and not too far off from a nicely staged home in the $400K range.

Several pictures were very dated and not overly expensive, furniture was nice but not even one piece was outstanding, bedding was Ok but didn’t look or feel exceptional and certainly not luxurious. Washrooms were large but no different than the homes for much less money. What was missing?

Where’s the caliber of WOW factor ??

This is what we call a $500K lifestyle in a $ million +  home syndrome.

Sellers have found themselves with homes in the over $1 mil range but their Lifestyle doesn’t show it or in most cases allow for it. But keep this in mind…

the purchasers in this bracket need to visualize themselves in the home – they are buying a Lifestyle, not just a house. And they have to spend a lot of money to get the lifestyle. Vendors have to set the stage. 

We have seen homes in the $1.6 mil range sit for months, then be properly styled and sell for asking or above.

So….some wall art should be gallery style, unique, limited edition or original, the master bedroom should feel like a retreat and the washrooms need some luxury. Living, dining and family room furniture that is slightly outdated or low end should be replaced with items that fit the home listing price tag lifestyle. 
Renting appropriate furniture and impactfull wall art is a perfect solution for the $500K lifestyle in a $1,000.000.00 + home syndrome.

My favourite customer service mantra: S.A.V.E.

This week’s Blog is a departure from property styling, staging, design, décor and preparing to sell in general.

It involves something that as services dealing with the public we need to deal with. Something that is hard to find and seems to be disappearing and at times non- existent:

Good customer service.

I read the following several years ago, (2009) in the NY Times blog of Jay Goltz.

It is timely, insightful and helps us turn negative situations into positive customer experiences.

Just thought I’d share!

How to S.A.V.E. Customer Service

By Jay Goltz

Sympathize. “I can understand why you are upset,” or, “yes, I can see the problem,” or, “I am so sorry that we have put you through this” will go a long way to calming most people.

Act. “I am going to talk to the person who does our scheduling,” or, “I am going to go back to production to take care of this myself,” or 100 other things you can say that will solve the problem.

Vindicate. It’s important to let the customer know that this isn’t business as usual. In my custom-framing business, if we frame something improperly we say, “We have a quality control inspector in addition to your sales consultant who checked over your order. They usually catch things like this. Obviously they dropped the ball. I’m really embarrassed. This kind of performance did not get us where we are. Again, I’m really sorry.”

Eat something. Customers did not give you money to get bad service. Many times it is appropriate to give them something. A restaurant might offer a free dessert, another company could offer free delivery or a discount. It costs a lot to find a new customer; it is certainly worth something to keep an existing one.